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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · nail · sharp · bank · deal · scale · mine · hand

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. content — the amount
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bank — for money
  5. sharp — clever
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. deal — to handle
  8. hand — help
  9. bank — for money
  10. hand — in cards
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. content — happy
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bank — of a river
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. sharp — with an edge

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com